Marigold

Marigold:

These yellow and orange flowers are a staple in the garden. They serve three purposes. First their pungent aroma helps repel nuisance insects, while feeding pollinators. Their cheery colors liven up a garden from a constant tint of green. Finally they have some medicinal uses for inflammation in the skin. Do your own homework on the last one though.

To Plant:

Marigolds typically start early, ours were started in the greenhouse prior to the kick off of

the season. Start with a good quality potting mix and feed as necessa

ry. Depending on when you get started you may need to transplant them. When transplanting be careful of the roots and the stalk, both are pretty fragile. When it is time to go to the garden there is really not anything special to do with them other than to make sure that the soil they

are getting is in good shape. Place them into a hole slightly larger than the root ball and backfill. Gently press the soil around them and off they go.

Marigolds can be placed in pots as well. If this is the route you take be sure to start with good soil and feed them regularly.

When planting in the garden intersperse them among everything to take advantage of their bug repelling qualities, also consider which plants will be flowering to add to the amount of pollinators you bring in.

Harvesting:

Not much to say here except that you get to do it once per plant. The marigold does not put up more than one flower per stalk.

Notes:

Be careful in the early days around these while weeding. They look similar to other weeds and are very easy to clip with the hoe.